Revolucion: Five Visions
a film by Nicole Cattell, U.S./Cuba, 56 minutes
This timely documentary reframes the Cuban revolution
through the lens of five Cuban photographers whose lives and work span
nearly five decades of revolution in Cuba. From Havana to Miami,
photographers on both sides of the political divide reveal the defiance
of revolutionaries and artists alike, and discover the power of art to
liberate.
Through Your Eyes/A Traves de tus Ojos
a film by Rodrigo Furth, Argentina, 104 minutes
Argentina’s economic crisis is in full swing when Lito
and Nilda travel to New York to fulfill Nilda’s lifelong dream of seeing
“The Big Apple.” When Nilda is hospitalized with a kidney illness Lito
is left on his own and penniless, and gets to know an unexpected side of
New York.
Mi Mambo!
a film by Pat Jaffe and Molly McBride, U.S., 57 minutes
Mi Mambo! steps inside the Harbor Conservatory for the
Performing Arts in East Harlem to explore the power of Latin music in
the lives of its students and teachers. The film follows its young
protagonists into their homes, and captures the personal struggles and
family life in which these young adults struggle for a place on what is,
for them, an uneven playing field.
Al Otro Lado
a film by Gustavo Loza, Mexico, 86 minutes
Writer/director Gustavo Loza tells the timely stories
of three kids from Morocco, Cuba and Mexico, whose fathers have left
their homes in search of better job opportunities. While focusing on the
common theme of migration, the film also shows the social problems and
resulting emotional turmoil caused by the absence of the father.
Featuring breathtaking shots of Michoacan, Mexico, the Havana coast, and
the Moroccan desert, To the Other Side was Mexico’s official selection
for the 2006 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.
El Caracazo
a film by Roman Chalbaud, Venezuela, 106 minutes
El Caracazo dramatizes the events that took place on
February 27, 2989 in Caracas, which forever changed the political
destiny of Venezuela. A protest against rising ticket prices at the
Guarenas bus station sparked a popular rebellion that carried on to
Caracas and resulted in a violent confrontation when the government of
Carlos Andres Perez reacted violently, killing hundreds of people.
Brazil: The Tropicalist Revolution
a film by Yves Billion & Dominique Dreyfus, France, 52 minutes
This French TV documentary traces the history and
politics of Tropicalism and the impact its music has had on Brazilian
society through the eyes of two of its greatest songwriters and poets,
Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Interspersed with original concert
footage from the 60s and 70s, Veloso and Gil recount the emergence of
the Tropicalist movement and how it triggered a revolution within the
concepts of morals, ways of thinking and even the very idea of Brazilian
identity.
Nine Queens (Special Tribute Screening)
The 2000 classic film by Fabian Bielinsky, Argentina, 115 minutes
Nine Queens is the beautifully written and
astonishingly assured debut feature of famed director Fabian
Bielinsky, and tells the story of two small-time swindlers, Juan
(Gaston Pauls) and Marcos (Ricardo Darin), who team up on a plot
that will set them up for early retirement- yet it soon seems that
the plan may be just a little too perfectly realized. As the action
moves from humble barrios to luxury hotels, it soon appears that the
city itself is part of an elaborate plot.
Asphalt Virgin
a film by Fernando Frias and Paulina Lasa, Mexico, 8 minutes
One night an image of “La Virgen de Guadalupe”
appeared on a street in a poor neighborhood in Mexico City. The next day
the street was closed, candles were placed everywhere and people prayed
at all hours of the day. A miracle or not?
For Rent
a film by Alberto Fuguet, Chile, 109 minutes
34-year-old Gaston Fernandez has no money, job,
girlfriend, friends or any ambitions in life. After failing as a
composer Gaston gets a job as a realtor for his father’s business and
soon he begins to find new life in his native city of Santiago. The
empty apartments he shows will begin to fill up with new people with new
stories that will help him understand and value his own. |
